How to install your Bubble Windows


1. Place the exterior frame against the body and trace the perimeter of the window that makes contact with the body. This does not need to be a laser precise cut. the window has 5/8” flanges which means you have almost a 1/4" of play around the window and you may need that wiggle room when trying to line it up with the inner frame later. Shoot for a decent cut but be aware that you will probably have to open this hole up some. There are welds on the inner frame that sometimes interfere. Try not to grind the welds down. Rather make room for them to slip in to the body by grinding or filing on the body. I sometimes use a carbide burr or roll sander to open the corners up. I like to cut out enough room with a cut off wheel that I can fit my electric shears in and cut out the shape. An angle grinder is ok. Reciprocating saw with a fine tooth blade for sheet metal. Maybe 12-18 TPI. If you use a grinder, torch, plasma cutter etc. of course be aware of where you are throwing sparks. Grinders can embed metal in to glass an aluminum. Of course clear all work areas of flammables. Wear safety glasses and other appropriate protection.


Note: Pay no mind to the missing lens in this window. The customer came over to change his lens from black to red. So we did most of the installation without the lens in to protect them. Your window will be complete during this process. Handle with care! The Acrylic is sensitive. But can be buffed with a Novus brand 3 step kit if it needs upkeep.


2. This is the part where you get a bonus project. You should have an interior board up. Even if you do not have an interior I suggest putting a small section of 1⁄4” luon across the ribs in the window area. The interior frame pulls the outer frame in. The exterior sheet metal puckers in gently and gets a good seal against    the perimeter of the window. The interior frame is not designed to be flipped over and installed sandwiching the body sheet metal. This will damage the frame and there will not be screw hole alignment. The frames are only meant to be a transition from a 2” thick wall. The interior wall and exterior sheet metal get closer together at the top of the wall so you may have to force in a small piece of two inch thick wood at the top to push the two apart and seal the body good as was the case on this coffin window . This piece of wood can be seen at the top sticking out from behind the wall on the page opposite to this.
Use a marker to project where the corners of the inner frame should be roughly. Drill through these holes. This projects them to other side of the wall board on the interior, which is where we’ll be working for the next step.

3. To be blunt this step is a shot in the dark. It does come with “educated guessing” but this is a rough cut to refinement cut process. The interior frame has a larger perimeter dimension than the exterior frame. This gives the window what might be described as a “reveal”. Or a step feeling from the wall surface down to the window lens. Using a straight edge connect the dots that we drilled from the outside. Now use this to line up the interior frame and trace it’s perimeter. You will find this outline to be a bit bigger than the drilled holes. Do your best to line things up. In my experience I always wind up refining this cut quite a bit to get the screw holes lined up with the exterior frame. Drill a 3/8” hole in the corner to drop the blade of the reciprocating saw through the board. Another method is drilling each corner and cutting to the corners. It will take some work to get the frame dropped in to this space and then adjusted to the exterior frame so be patient. I have finalized these gaps with 36 grit sand paper on a block just to keep things tidy. Go at your own pace. Use tools you are comfortable with. Once fit try to join the frames together with screws.


4. Use 5/8” long #8 screws to join the frames together. If your wall gap is larger than 2” you will have to use longer screws and then create a barrier to close the wall gap decoratively. As long as the interior frame is pulling on the exterior you’ll get a good tight install against the body. When you’ve made it through fitment you can now seal the window against the body. If you want to be able to remove the window silicone might be a good sealant. It does eventually dry out and need to be removed and resealed. Butyl rope like 3M’s window weld in 1⁄4” diameter is a more permanent option. This can be squished around the perimeter flange to mate the window to the body. Butyl never dries and more can be pushed in using a plastic squeegee if you need to fill a gap. It does however leave a mess on the body and can be a strong adhesive sealing the window against the van making later removal difficult.